Electrolytic copper foil proof against tear or wrinkle defects, electrode comprising same, secondary battery comprising same, and manufacturing method therefor

ABSTRACT

An embodiment of the present disclosure provides an electrolytic copper foil, which comprises a copper layer and has a valley mean roughness of 0.8 to 12.5, a texture coefficient of (220) face (TC(220)) of 0.49 to 1.28, a tensile strength of 25 to 51 kgf/mm2, and a weight deviation in lateral direction of 3% or less.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a National Stage of International Application No. PCT/KR2020/015965 filed on Nov. 13, 2020, which claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2019-0150514, filed on Nov. 21, 2019, with the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the entire contents of each hereby incorporated by reference.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates to an electrolytic copper foil in which valley mean roughness (VMR) is optimized to prevent tear or wrinkle defects, an electrode including the electrolytic copper foil, a secondary battery including the electrode, and a method of manufacturing the electrolytic copper foil.

BACKGROUND

A secondary battery is a type of energy converter that converts electrical energy into chemical energy, stores the chemical energy, and generates electricity by converting the chemical energy into electrical energy when the electricity is needed. The secondary battery is used as energy sources for electric vehicles as well as portable home appliances such as mobile phones and laptop computers. The secondary battery is rechargeable and thus is also referred to as a rechargeable battery.

As secondary batteries that have economic and environmental advantages over disposable primary batteries, there are lead storage batteries, nickel cadmium secondary batteries, nickel hydride secondary batteries, and lithium secondary batteries.

In particular, lithium secondary batteries may store a relatively large amount of energy relative to a size and weight thereof as compared with other secondary batteries. Therefore, in the field of information communication devices in which portability and mobility are important, the lithium secondary batteries are preferred, and an application range thereof is also expanding to energy storage devices for hybrid vehicles and electric vehicles.

Lithium secondary batteries are used by repeatedly performing a cycle including charging and discharging. When a certain device is operated with a fully charged lithium secondary battery, the lithium secondary battery should have a high charge/discharge capacity to increase an operating time of the device. Accordingly, there are continuous demands for research to satisfy users' increasing needs for a charge/discharge capacity of lithium secondary batteries.

Such a secondary battery includes an anode current collector made of a copper foil. Among copper foils, an electrolytic copper foil is widely used as an anode current collector of a secondary battery. Along with an increase in demand for secondary batteries, there is an increase in demand for secondary batteries with high capacity, high efficiency, and high quality, and thus, there is a need for copper foils capable of improving characteristics of secondary batteries. In particular, there is a need for copper foils that can impart high capacity to secondary batteries and enable secondary batteries to stably maintain capacity and performance.

As copper foils become thinner, an amount of active materials that may be included in the same space may be increased, and the number of current collectors may be increased. Thus, the capacity of secondary batteries may be increased. However, as copper foils become thinner, curling occurs, and thus, when the electrolytic copper foil is wound, defects such as tears or wrinkles of the electrolytic copper foil occur due to a curling of an edge. For this reason, there is difficulty in manufacturing and using very thin film-type copper foils. Therefore, in order to manufacture an electrolytic copper foil having a very thin thickness, curling of the electrolytic copper foil should be prevented.

In addition, not only in a manufacturing process of an electrolytic copper foil, but also in a manufacturing process of an electrodes for a secondary battery or a secondary battery using the electrolytic copper foil, curling, tears, or wrinkles should not occur in the electrolytic copper foil. In particular, in a rolling process or a coating process of active materials in a manufacturing process of a copper foil or a secondary battery using the copper foil through a roll-to-roll (RTR) process, defects, in which an edge of the copper foil is torn, should not occur.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure relates to an electrolytic copper foil capable of satisfying the limitations and requirements of the related technology, an electrode including the electrolytic copper foil, a secondary battery including the electrode, and a method of manufacturing the electrolytic copper foil.

The present disclosure is directed to providing an electrolytic copper foil which is not curled, wrinkled, or torn in a manufacturing process even while being thin. The present disclosure is also directed to providing an electrolytic copper foil which is not curled, wrinkled, or torn in a manufacturing process of an electrode for a secondary battery or a secondary battery using the electrolytic copper foil.

The present disclosure is also directed to providing an electrode for a secondary battery including such an electrolytic copper foil, and a secondary battery including the electrode for a secondary battery.

The present disclosure is also directed to providing a method of manufacturing an electrolytic copper foil in which curling, wrinkles, or tears are prevented.

Apart from the aspects of the present disclosure mentioned above, other features and advantages of the present disclosure will be described below and would be clearly understood from the description by those skilled in the art.

According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, an electrolytic copper foil, which has a valley mean roughness of 0.8 to 12.5, a (220) texture coefficient [TC(220)] of 0.49 to 1.28, a tensile strength of 25 kgf/mm² to 51 kgf/mm², and a width direction weight deviation of 3% or less, includes a copper layer, wherein the width direction weight deviation is calculated according to Equation 1 below, and the valley mean roughness is calculated according to Equation 2 below:

width direction weight deviation (%)=(standard deviation of weight/arithmetic mean of weight)×100, and  [Equation 1]

valley mean roughness(VMR)=[maximum valley depth of roughness profile (Rv)]/[surface roughness(Ra)].  [Equation 2]

The electrolytic copper foil may have a surface roughness of 2.5 μm or less.

A difference in surface roughness between both surfaces of the electrolytic copper foil may be 0.65 μm or less.

The electrolytic copper foil may have a thickness of 4 μm to 30 μm.

The electrolytic copper foil may further include a protective layer disposed on the copper layer.

The protective layer may include at least one selected from among chromium (Cr), a silane compound, and a nitrogen compound.

According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, an electrode for a secondary battery includes an electrolytic copper foil, and an active material layer disposed on the electrolytic copper foil, wherein the electrolytic copper foil includes a copper layer and has a VMR of 0.8 to 12.5, a (220) texture coefficient [TC(220)] of 0.49 to 1.28, a tensile strength of 25 kgf/mm² to 51 kgf/mm², and a width direction weight deviation of 3% or less. The width direction weight deviation is calculated according to Equation 1 below, and the VMR is calculated according to Equation 2 below:

width direction weight deviation (%)=(standard deviation of weight/arithmetic mean of weight)×100, and  [Equation 1]

VMR=[maximum valley depth of roughness profile(Rv)]/[surface roughness (Ra)].  [Equation 2]

The electrolytic copper foil may have a surface roughness of 2.5 μm or less.

A difference in surface roughness between both surfaces of the electrolytic copper foil may be 0.65 μm or less.

The electrolytic copper foil may have a thickness of 4 μm to 30 μm.

The electrolytic copper foil may further include a protective layer disposed on the copper layer.

The protective layer may include at least one selected from among chromium (Cr), a silane compound, and a nitrogen compound.

The active material layer may include at least one active material selected from the group consisting of carbon, a metal such as silicon (Si), germanium (Ge), tin (Sn), lithium (Li), zinc (Zn), magnesium (Mg), cadmium (Cd), cerium (Ce), nickel (Ni), or iron (Fe), an alloy including the metal, an oxide of the metal, and a composite of the metal and carbon.

According to still another embodiment of the present disclosure, a secondary battery includes a cathode, an anode formed as the electrode for a secondary battery, an electrolyte which provides an environment in which lithium ions are movable between the cathode and the anode, and a separator configured to electrically insulate the cathode and the anode.

According to yet another embodiment of the present disclosure, a method of manufacturing an electrolytic copper foil includes preparing an electrolyte and performing electroplating using the electrolyte to form a copper layer, wherein the electrolyte includes copper ions at a concentration of 70 g/L to 90 g/L, a sulfuric acid at a concentration of 50 g/L to 150 g/L, arsenic (As) at a concentration of 5 mg/L to 45 mg/L, acetamide at a concentration of 5 mg/L to 25 mg/L, and polypropylene glycol (PPG) at a concentration of 5 mg/L to 20 mg/L, and the formation of the copper layer includes applying a current at a current density of 40 A/dm² to 80 A/dm² between an electrode plate and a rotating drum disposed to be spaced apart from each other in the electrolyte.

In the formation of the copper layer, the electrolyte may be supplied with a deviation in flow rate of 5% or less per unit minute, and the deviation in flow rate per unit minute may be calculated according to Equation 4 below:

deviation in flow rate per unit minute of electrolyte (%)=[(maximum value of flow rate per minute−minimum value of flow rate per minute)/average value of flow rate per minute]×100.  [Equation 4]

The method may further include forming a protective layer on the copper layer.

The forming of the protective layer may include performing anticorrosion treatment on a surface of the copper layer using at least one selected from among chromium (Cr), a silane compound, and a nitrogen compound.

The forming of the protective layer may include immersing the copper layer in an anticorrosive liquid including chromium (Cr) at a concentration of 0.5 g/L to 1.5 g/L.

According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, curling, wrinkles, or tears are prevented in a manufacturing process of an electrolytic copper foil. It is possible to manufacture a secondary battery having a long lifetime capable of maintaining high charge/discharge capacity for a long time even when a charge/discharge cycle is repeated. In addition, when such an electrolytic copper foil is used, curling, wrinkles, or tears of the electrolytic copper foil are prevented in a manufacturing process of an electrode for a secondary battery or a secondary battery.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the present disclosure and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this application, illustrate embodiments of the present disclosure and serve to explain the principle of the disclosure together with the description;

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an electrolytic copper foil according to one embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 shows an example of a roughness profile for describing a “maximum valley depth of roughness profile (Rv)” according to JIS B 0601:2001 standards;

FIG. 3 shows an example of an X-ray diffraction (XRD) graph of an electrolytic copper foil;

FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an electrolytic copper foil according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an electrode for a secondary battery according to still another embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an electrode for a secondary battery according to yet another embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a secondary battery according to yet another embodiment of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 8 is a schematic view of a method of manufacturing the electrolytic copper foil shown in FIG. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present disclosure without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Thus, it is intended that the present disclosure covers the modifications and variations of this disclosure provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

The shapes, sizes, ratios, angles, numbers, and the like illustrated in the accompanying drawings for describing the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are merely examples, and the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Like reference numerals generally denote like elements throughout the present specification.

The terms such as “including,” “having,” and “consist of” used herein are generally intended to allow other components to be added unless the terms are used with the term “only.” Any references to singular may include plural unless expressly stated otherwise. Components are interpreted to include an ordinary error range even if not expressly stated.

When the position relation between two portions is described using the terms such as “on,” “above,” “below,” and “next,” one or more portions may be positioned between the two positions unless the term “immediately” or “directly” is used.

When the description of the time sequential relation includes “after,” “followed by,” “next,” “before,” etc., non-continuous cases may be included unless “right” or “direct” is used.

Terms such as first, second, etc. may be used to describe various components, but these components are not limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from other components. Thus, the first component referred to below may be a second component within the scope of the present disclosure.

The term “at least one” should be understood to include any combination possible from one or more related items.

Features of various embodiments of the present disclosure may be partially or overall coupled to or combined with each other and may be variously inter-operated with each other and driven technically. The embodiments of the present disclosure may be carried out independently from each other or may be carried out together in a co-dependent relationship.

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an electrolytic copper foil 101 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 1, the electrolytic copper foil 101 of the present disclosure includes a copper layer 111. The copper layer 111 has a matte surface MS and a shiny surface SS opposite to the matte surface MS.

For example, the copper layer 111 may be formed on a rotating anode drum through electroplating (see FIG. 8). In this case, the shiny surface SS refers to a surface in contact with the rotating anode drum in an electroplating process, and the matte surface MS refers to a surface opposite to the shiny surface SS.

With respect to the copper layer 111, the electrolytic copper foil 101 has a first surface S1 that is a surface in the direction of the matte surface MS and a second surface S2 that is a surface in the direction of the shiny surface SS. Referring to FIG. 1, the first surface S1 of the electrolytic copper foil 101 is a surface of a first protective layer 112 a, and the second surface S2 is the shiny surface SS. According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the first protective layer 112 a may be omitted, and when the first protective layer 112 a is omitted, the matte surface MS of the copper layer 111 becomes the first surface S1.

In general, the second surface has surface roughness (Rz) lower than that of the first surface. However, one embodiment of the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and the surface roughness (Rz) of the second surface may be higher than or equal to the surface roughness (Rz) of the first surface. For example, according to a polishing degree of the rotating anode drum 12 (see FIG. 8) used for manufacturing the copper layer 111, the surface roughness of the second surface may be lower or higher than the surface roughness (Rz) of the first surface. A surface of the rotating anode drum 12 may be polished using a polishing brush having a grit of #800 to #3000.

Referring to FIG. 1, the electrolytic copper foil 101 includes the first protective layer 112 a disposed on the matte surface MS of the copper layer 111. The first protective layer 112 a may be omitted.

A protective layer 112 may be disposed on at least one of the matte surface MS and the shiny surface SS of the copper layer 111. Referring to FIG. 1, the first protective layer 112 a is disposed on the matte surface MS. However, one embodiment of the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and the first protective layer 112 a may be disposed only on the shiny surface SS or may be disposed on both the matte surface MS and the shiny surface SS.

The protective layer 112 may protect the copper layer 111 to prevent the copper layer 111 from being oxidized or degraded during storage or distribution. Therefore, the protective layer 112 is also referred to as an anticorrosive film.

According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the protective layer 112 may include at least one selected from among chromium (Cr), a silane compound, and a nitrogen compound.

For example, the protective layer 112 may be made of an anticorrosive liquid including chromium (Cr), that is, an anticorrosive liquid including a chromic acid compound.

The electrolytic copper foil 101 of the present disclosure may have a tensile strength of 25 kgf/mm² to 51 kgf/mm² at room temperature (25±15° C.).

The tensile strength is measured using a universal testing machine (UTM), and in this case, after a sample is heat-treated at a temperature of 135° C. for 10 minutes, the tensile strength is measured. In this case, a width of the sample is 12.7 mm, a distance between grips is 50 mm, and a test speed is 50 mm/min.

When the tensile strength of the electrolytic copper foil 101 is less than 25 kgf/mm², the electrolytic copper foil 101 is easily deformed due to a force applied in a roll-to-roll process of a manufacturing process of an electrode and/or a manufacturing process of a secondary battery, and thus, there is a risk that tears and/or wrinkles occur. On the other hand, when the tensile strength of the electrolytic copper foil 101 exceeds 51 kgf/mm² and when the electrolytic copper foil 101 receives tension during a manufacturing process, there is a high risk that the electrolytic copper foil 101 is torn, and there is a decrease in workability of a manufacturing process of a secondary battery.

A width direction weight deviation of the electrolytic copper foil 101 of the present disclosure may be 3% or less. The width direction weight deviation may be obtained as follows.

First, samples having a size of 5 cmx 5 cm are taken from left, center, and right points positioned in a width direction of the electrolytic copper foil 101 and then weights of the three samples are measured. Subsequently, an arithmetic mean and a standard deviation of the measured values are obtained, and a width direction weight deviation is calculated according to Equation 1 below.

width direction weight deviation (%)=(standard deviation of weight/arithmetic mean of weight)×100  [Equation 1]

When the width direction weight deviation of the electrolytic copper foil 101 exceeds 3%, wrinkles occur at a portion at which the weight deviation exceeds 3% in a roll-to-roll process for battery manufacturing, and thus, a defect rate is increased.

Meanwhile, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure, as a secondary battery is repeatedly charged and discharged, active material layers 120 a and 120 b are alternately contracted and expanded to cause the separation of the active material layers 120 a and 120 b from the electrolytic copper foil 101, thereby reducing the capacity of the secondary battery. Accordingly, in order to allow an electrode to secure a capacity retention rate and lifetime at a predetermined level or more (i.e., in order to suppress a decrease in capacity of a secondary battery), the electrolytic copper foil 101 should have excellent coatability with respect to an active material so that adhesion strength between the electrolytic copper foil 101 and the active material layers 120 a and 120 b is allowed to be high.

In general, it is known that the adhesion strength between the electrolytic copper foil 101 and the active material layers 120 a and 120 b can be improved by controlling the surface roughness (Rz) of the electrolytic copper foil 101. The surface roughness (Rz) is also referred to as ten-point mean roughness. The surface roughness (Rz) is determined as a value obtained by adding the sum (absolute value) of distances to five points farthest upward from a center line of a sample section in a surface roughness profile and the sum (absolute value) of distances to five points farthest downward from the center line and dividing the added value by five. The surface roughness (Rz) may be measured according to JIS B 0601-2001 standards using a Mahrsurf M300 roughness tester manufactured by Mahr Inc.

According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, surface roughnesses (Rz1 and Rz2) of the first and second surfaces S1 and S2 of the electrolytic copper foil 101 may be 2.5 μm or less. When the surface roughnesses (Rz1 and Rz2) exceed 2.5 μm, the first and second surfaces S1 and S2 of the electrolytic copper foil 101 are excessively non-uniform, and thus, the coating uniformity of an anode active material is lowered. Accordingly, adhesion between the electrolytic copper foil 101 and the first and second active material layers 120 a and 120 b is significantly reduced.

According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, a difference (|Rz1−Rz2|) between the surface roughness (Rz1) of the first surface and the surface roughness (Rz2) of the second surface may be 0.65 μm or less. When the difference between the surface roughness of the first and second surfaces exceeds 0.65 μm, an active material is not uniformly applied on the first and second surfaces S1 and S2 due to the difference in surface roughness (Rz) of the first and second surfaces S1 and S2. Accordingly, a difference in electrical and physical properties between the both surfaces S1 and S2 may occur during charging/discharging of a secondary battery, and thus, the capacity retention rate and lifetime of the secondary battery may be reduced. For example, after an active material is applied, a difference between adhesion between the first active material layer 120 a and the electrolytic copper foil 101 and adhesion between the second active material layer 120 b and the electrolytic copper foil 101 occurs on the first and second surfaces. Accordingly, due to the difference, after an electrode is manufactured, the electrode is bent in a direction in which adhesion is relatively great, thereby increasing a defect rate.

However, actually, the electrolytic copper foil 101, in which the surface roughness (Rz) is appropriately adjusted (for example, adjusted to 2.5 μm or less), does not necessarily satisfy an adhesion force between the electrolytic copper foil 101 and the active material layers 120 a and 120 b required in a specification. That is, the electrolytic copper foil 101 having a surface roughness (Rz) of 2.5 μm or less may not always secure a capacity retention rate of 83% or more of a secondary battery (after charging and discharging 500 times) required in the industry.

In particular, it is known that, when the active material layers 120 a and 120 b include silicon (Si) to increase the capacity of the secondary battery, a relationship between the surface roughness (Rz) of the electrolytic copper foil 101 and the capacity retention rate of the secondary battery is lower.

According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, in securing an adhesion force between the electrolytic copper foil 101 and the active material layers 120 a and 120 b that is great enough to secure a capacity retention rate of 83% or more of a secondary battery, “valley mean roughness (VMR)” of the electrolytic copper foil 101 has been found to be a more important factor than the surface roughness (Rz).

Hereinafter, the “VMR” of the electrolytic copper foil 101 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 2.

The “maximum valley depth of roughness profile (Rv)” and the “surface roughness (Ra)” of the electrolytic copper foil 101 may be measured, and the “VMR” may be obtained from the measured values of the “maximum valley depth of roughness profile (Rv)” and the “surface roughness (Ra)” through a calculation according to Equation 2 below.

VMR=[maximum valley depth of roughness profile(Rv)]/[surface roughness (Ra)]  [Equation 2]

As shown in FIG. 2, the “maximum valley depth of roughness profile (Rv)” defined in JIS B 0601:2001 standards refers to a depth of the deepest valley from a mean line in a surface roughness profile (sampling length: 4 mm).

The “surface roughness (Ra)” defined in the JIS B 0601:2001 standards is also referred to as arithmetic mean roughness. The surface roughness (Rz) is determined as a value obtained by obtaining the sum of the total areas above and below a center line of a measurement section (reference length) in a surface roughness profile and dividing the sum by a length of the measurement section.

“Maximum valley depths of roughness profile (Rv)” and “surface roughnesses (Ra)” may be measured at three arbitrary points on a surface [sampling length: 4 mm, stylus tip radius: 2 μm, stylus tip taper angle: 60°, and measuring force: 0.75 mN] according to JIS B 0601-2001 standards using a roughness tester manufactured by Mitutoyo company, and then, average values thereof may be calculated to obtain the above-described “maximum valley depth of roughness profile (Rv) and “surface roughness (Ra).” A roughness profile refers to a roughness profile of a surface of an electrolytic copper foil.

According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, VMR of a roughness profile of the first and second surfaces S1 and S2 is in a range of 0.8 to 12.5.

When the VMR of the roughness profile of the first and second surfaces S1 and S2 is less than 0.8, in a roll-to-roll process for manufacturing the electrolytic copper foil 101, slipping occurs, and thus, tension is non-uniformly applied to the copper foil to cause tears.

On the other hand, when the VMR of the roughness profile of the first and second surfaces S1 and S2 exceeds 12.5, in a manufacturing process of a secondary battery, a portion with high VMR acts as a notch to cause tears.

According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the matte surface MS and the shiny surface SS of the copper layer 111 have crystal faces, and a (220) face texture coefficient [TC(220)] of each of the matte surface MS and the shiny surface SS of the copper layer 111 is in a range of 0.49 to 1.28.

More specifically, the copper layer 111 may have a plurality of crystal faces, and the crystal face may be expressed using a Miller Index. Specifically, the crystal face of the copper layer 111 may be expressed as an (hkl) face. Each of the crystal faces has a texture coefficient (TC), and the TC of the crystal faces may be measured or calculated using X-ray diffraction (XRD).

Hereinafter, a method of measuring and calculating the TC of the crystal faces of the copper layer 111 constituting the electrolytic copper foil 101 will be described with reference to FIG. 3.

FIG. 3 shows an example of an XRD graph of an electrolytic copper foil. More specifically, FIG. 3 is an XRD graph of the copper layer 111 constituting the electrolytic copper foil 101. Each peak of FIG. 3 corresponds to a crystal face.

The (220) face TC [TC(220)] may be obtained as follows.

An XRD method is performed in a diffraction angle (20) ranging from 30° to 90° [target: copper K alpha 1, 2θ interval: 0.01°, and 2θ scan speed: 3°/min] to obtain an XRD graph having peaks corresponding to n crystal faces (n=4) [for example, peaks corresponding to a (111) face, a (200) face, a (220) face, and a (311) face as shown in FIG. 4], and XRD diffraction intensity [I(hkl)] of each crystal face (hkl) is obtained from the graph. In addition, XRD diffraction intensities [I0(hkL)] of the n crystal faces of a standard copper powder regulated by joint committee on powder diffraction standards (JCPDS) are obtained. Subsequently, an arithmetic mean value of “I(hkl)/I0(hkl)” of then crystal faces is obtained, and then, I(220)/I0(220) of the (220) face is divided by the arithmetic mean value to calculate the (220) face TC [TC(220)]. That is, the (220) face TC [TC(220)] is calculated based on Equation 3 below.

$\begin{matrix} {{{TC}(220)} = \frac{\frac{I\left( {220} \right)}{I_{0}\left( {220} \right)}}{\frac{1}{n}{\sum\frac{I\left( {{hk}\; 1} \right)}{I_{0}\left( {{hk}\; 1} \right)}}}} & \left\lbrack {{Equation}\mspace{14mu} 3} \right\rbrack \end{matrix}$

As the (220) face TC [TC(220)] is increased, a crystal structure of the copper foil 101 becomes denser. The (220) face TC [TC(220)] of each of the matte surface MS and the shiny surface SS may be 0.49 or more. When the (220) face TC [TC(220)] is less than 0.49, the crystal structure of the copper foil 101 is not dense, and thus, there is a high risk that the electrolytic copper foil 101 is torn in a manufacturing process. According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the (220) face TC of the matte surface MS or the shiny surface SS of the copper layer 111 is also referred to as a (220) face TC [TC(220)] of the electrolytic copper foil 101. In addition, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the crystal structure of the copper layer 111 may also be referred to as a crystal structure of the electrolytic copper foil 101.

On the other hand, when the (220) face TC [TC(220)] exceeds 1.28, the crystal structure of the copper layer 111 is excessively dense, and thus, elongation is decreased to be less than 3%. Therefore, the electrolytic copper foil 101 is easily torn in a manufacturing process. In addition, a sufficient adhesion force between the electrolytic copper foil 101 and an anode active material may not be secured due to the lack of an active area in which the anode active material may be in stable contact with the electrolytic copper foil 101. Therefore, when a secondary battery is charged and discharged, the electrolytic copper foil 101 is not expanded and contracted together with the first and second active material layers 120 a and 120 b, and thus, there is a high risk that the first and second active material layers 120 a and 120 b are separated from the electrolytic copper foil 101. As a result, a capacity retention rate of the secondary battery may be lowered such that a stable product may not be manufactured.

According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the electrolytic copper foil 101 may have a thickness of 4 μm to 30 μm.

When the electrolytic copper foil 101 is used as a current collector of an electrode in a secondary battery, as the electrolytic copper foil 101 becomes thinner, more current collectors can be accommodated in the same space, which is advantageous in increasing the capacity of the secondary battery. However, when the thickness of the electrolytic copper foil 101 is less than 4 μm, workability is significantly lowered in a manufacturing process of an electrode for a secondary battery and a secondary battery using the electrolytic copper foil 101.

On the other hand, when the thickness of the electrolytic copper foil 101 exceeds 30 μm, a thickness of an electrode for a secondary battery using the electrolytic copper foil 101 is increased, and due to the thickness, it may be difficult to implement high capacity of the secondary battery.

FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an electrolytic copper foil 102 according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. Hereinafter, to avoid repetition, descriptions of the above-described components will be omitted.

Referring to FIG. 4, the electrolytic copper foil 102 according to another embodiment of the present disclosure includes a copper layer 111 and first and second protective layers 112 a and 112 b respectively disposed on a matte surface MS and a shiny surface SS of the copper layer 111. When compared with the electrolytic copper foil 101 shown in FIG. 1, the electrolytic copper foil 102 shown in FIG. 4 further includes the protective layer 112 b disposed on the shiny surface SS of the copper layer 111.

For convenience of description, among the two protective layers 112 a and 112 b, the protective layer 112 a disposed on the matte surface MS of the copper layer 111 is also referred to as a first protective layer, and the protective layer 112 b disposed on the shiny surface SS is also referred to as a second protective layer.

In addition, with respect to the copper layer 111, the electrolytic copper foil 102 shown in FIG. 4 has a first surface S1 that is a surface in the direction of the matte surface MS and a second surface S2 that is a surface in the direction of the shiny surface SS. Here, the first surface S1 of the electrolytic copper foil 102 is a surface of the first protective layer 112 a disposed on the matte surface MS, and the second surface S2 is a surface of the second protective layer 112 b disposed on the shiny surface SS.

According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, the two protective layers 112 a and 112 b may each include at least one selected from among chromium (Cr), a silane compound, and a nitrogen compound.

VMR of a roughness profile of the first and second surfaces S1 and S2 shown in FIG. 4 is in a range of 0.8 to 12.5.

In the electrolytic copper foil 102, a (220) face TC [TC(220)] of each of the matte surface MS and the shiny surface SS may be in a range of 0.49 to 1.28. The electrolytic copper foil 102 may have a tensile strength of 25 kgf/mm² to 51 kgf/mm² at room temperature (25±15° C.).

A width direction weight deviation of the electrolytic copper foil 102 may be 3% or less.

In the electrolytic copper foil 102 shown in FIG. 4, surface roughnesses (Rz1 and Rz2) of the first and second surfaces S1 and S2 may be 2.5 μm or less, and a difference (|Rz1−Rz2|) between the surface roughness (Rz1) of the first surface and the surface roughness (Rz2) of the second surface may be 0.65 μm or less.

The electrolytic copper foil 102 of FIG. 4 has a thickness of 4 μm to 30 μm.

FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an electrode 103 for a secondary battery according to still another embodiment of the present disclosure. The electrode 103 for a secondary battery shown in FIG. 5 may be applied, for example, to a secondary battery 105 shown in FIG. 7.

Referring to FIG. 5, the electrode 103 for a secondary battery according to still another embodiment of the present disclosure includes an electrolytic copper foil 101 and an active material layer 120 a disposed on the electrolytic copper foil 101. Here, the electrolytic copper foil 101 includes a copper layer 111 and a first protective layer 112 a disposed on the copper layer 111 and is used as a current collector.

Specifically, the electrolytic copper foil 101 has a first surface S1 and a second surface S2, and the active material layer 120 a is disposed on at least one of the first surface S1 and the second surface S2 of the electrolytic copper foil 101. The active material layer 120 a may be disposed on the first protective layer 112 a.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example in which the electrolytic copper foil 101 of FIG. 1 is used as a current collector. However, still another embodiment of the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and the copper foil 102 shown in FIG. 4 may be used as a current collector of the electrode 103 for a secondary battery.

In addition, FIG. 5 illustrates a structure in which the first active material layer 120 a is disposed only on the first surface S1 of the electrolytic copper foil 101, but still another embodiment of the present disclosure is not limited thereto. First and second active material layers 120 a and 120 b may be disposed on both the first and second surfaces S1 and S2, respectively. In addition, an active material layer 120 may be disposed only on the second surface S2 of the electrolytic copper foil 101.

The first active material layer 120 a shown in FIG. 5 is made of an electrode active material, and in particular, may be made of an anode active material. That is, the electrode 103 for a secondary battery shown in FIG. 5 may be used as an anode.

The active material layer 120 may include at least one selected from among carbon, a metal, an alloy including a metal, an oxide of a metal, and a composite of a metal and carbon as an anode active material. As the metal, at least one selected from among silicon (Si), germanium (Ge), tin (Sn), lithium (Li), zinc (Zn), magnesium (Mg), cadmium (Cd), cerium (Ce), nickel (Ni), and iron (Fe) may be used. Specifically, in order to increase the charge/discharge capacity of a secondary battery, the metal may include silicon (Si).

As a secondary battery is repeatedly charged and discharged, the active material layer 120 a is alternately contracted and expanded to cause the separation of the active material layer 120 a from the electrolytic copper foil 101, thereby reducing the charge/discharge efficiency of the secondary battery. In particular, the active material 120 a including silicon (Si) has a large degree of expansion and contraction.

According to still another embodiment of the present disclosure, since the electrolytic copper foil 101 used as a current collector may contract and expand in response to the contraction and expansion of the active material layer 120, even when the active material layer 120 contracts and expands, the electrolytic copper foil 101 is not deformed or torn due to the contraction and expansion of the active material layer 120. Accordingly, the electrolytic copper foil 101 and the active material layer 120 a are not separated. Accordingly, a secondary battery including the electrode 103 for a secondary battery has excellent charge/discharge efficiency and an excellent capacity retention rate.

FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an electrode 104 for a secondary battery according to yet another embodiment of the present disclosure.

The electrode 104 for a secondary battery according to yet another embodiment of the present disclosure includes an electrolytic copper foil 102 and first and second active material layers 120 a and 120 b disposed on the electrolytic copper foil 102. The electrolytic copper foil 102 includes a copper layer 111 and first and second protective layers 112 a and 112 b disposed on both surfaces of the copper layer 111. However, one embodiment of the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and any one of the first active material layer 120 a and the second active material layer 120 b may be omitted.

Specifically, the electrode 104 for a secondary battery shown in FIG. 6 includes two first and second active material layers 120 a and 120 b disposed on first and second surfaces S1 and S2 of the electrolytic copper foil 102, respectively. Here, the active material layer 120 a disposed on the first surface S1 of the electrolytic copper foil 102 is also referred to as a first active material layer, and the active material layer 120 b disposed on the second surface S2 of the electrolytic copper foil 102 is also referred to as a second active material layer.

The two first and second active material layers 120 a and 120 b may be made of the same material through the same method and may be made of different materials or formed through different methods.

FIG. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a secondary battery 105 according to yet another embodiment of the present disclosure. The secondary battery 105 shown in FIG. 7 is, for example, a lithium secondary battery.

Referring to FIG. 7, the secondary battery 105 includes a cathode 370, an anode 340, an electrolyte 350 disposed between the cathode 370 and the anode 340 to provide an environment in which ions are movable, and a separator 360 electrically insulating the cathode 370 and the anode 340. Here, the ions moving between the cathode 370 and the anode 340 are, for example, lithium ions. The separator 360 separates the cathode 370 and the anode 340 in order to prevent charges generated at one electrode from being consumed by moving to another electrode through the inside of the secondary battery 105. Referring to FIG. 7, the separator 360 is disposed in the electrolyte 350.

The cathode 370 may include a cathode current collector 371 and a cathode active material layer 372, and an aluminum foil may be used as the cathode current collector 371.

The anode 340 may include an anode current collector 341 and an anode active material layer 342, and an electrolytic copper foil may be used as the anode current collector 341.

According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the electrolytic copper foil 101 or 102 illustrated in FIG. 1 or 4 may be used as the anode current collector 341. In addition, the electrode 103 or 104 for a secondary battery shown in FIG. 5 or 6 may be used as the anode 340 of the secondary battery 105 shown in FIG. 7.

Hereinafter, a method of manufacturing an electrolytic copper foil 102 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 8.

FIG. 8 is a schematic view of a method of manufacturing the electrolytic copper foil 102 shown in FIG. 4.

The method of manufacturing the electrolytic copper foil 102 of the present disclosure includes preparing an electrolyte 11, and performing electroplating using the electrolyte 11 to form a copper layer 111.

Specifically, in the preparing of the electrolyte 11, the electrolyte 11 including copper ions is first prepared. The electrolyte 11 is accommodated in an electrolytic cell 10.

Subsequently, in the performing of the electroplating using the electrolyte 11 to form the copper layer 111, a current at a current density of 40 to 80 ASD (A/dm²) is applied to a cathode plate 13 and a rotating anode drum 12 disposed to be spaced apart from each other in the electrolyte 11 to perform the electroplating, thereby forming the copper layer 111 on the rotating anode drum 12. The copper layer 111 is formed by a principle of electroplating.

When the current density of the current applied between the cathode plate 13 and the rotating anode drum 12 is less than 40 ASD, the generation of crystal grains is facilitated in the copper layer 111, and when the current density exceeds 80 ASD, crystal grains rapidly become finer. More specifically, the current density may be adjusted to 50 ASD or more.

The surface characteristics of the shiny surface SS of the copper layer 111 may be changed according to the buffing or polishing degree of a surface of the rotating anode drum 12. In order to adjust the surface characteristics in the direction of the shiny surface SS, for example, the surface of the rotating anode drum 12 may be polished using a polishing brush having a grit of #800 to #3000.

In the forming of the copper layer 111, the electrolyte 11 is maintained at a temperature of 50° C. to 65° C., and a deviation in flow rate at which the electrolyte 11 is supplied is maintained at 5% or less per unit minute. In this case, by adjusting a composition of the electrolyte 11, the physical, chemical, and electrical properties of the copper layer 111 may be controlled.

According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the electrolyte 11 includes copper ions at a concentration of 70 g/L to 90 g/L, a sulfuric acid at a concentration of 50 g/L to 150 g/L, arsenic (As) at a concentration of 5 mg/L to 45 mg/L, acetamide at a concentration of 5 mg/L to 25 mg/L, and polypropylene glycol (PPG) at a concentration of 5 mg/L to 20 mg/L.

In order to facilitate the formation of the copper layer 111 through copper electrodeposition, the concentration of the copper ions and the concentration of the sulfuric acid in the electrolyte 11 are adjusted in a range of 70 g/L to 90 g/L and a range of 50 g/L to 150 g/L, respectively. More specifically, the concentration of the sulfuric acid in the electrolyte 11 may be adjusted in a range of 70 g/L to 120 g/L.

The concentration of the arsenic (As) in the electrolyte 11 is controlled in a range of 5 mg/L to 45 mg/L. However, one embodiment of the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

Arsenic serves as an accelerator for accelerating a reduction reaction of copper (Cu) in a certain concentration section. When the concentration of the arsenic is less than 5 mg/L, in a process of forming the copper layer 111, a surface of the copper layer 111 is flatly plated, and VMR of each of first and second surfaces of the electrolytic copper foil 102 is less than 0.8.

On the other hand, when the concentration of the arsenic exceeds 45 mg/L, and when Cu²⁺ or Cu¹⁺ which is a copper ion, is deoxidized into copper (Cu), an insoluble compound is formed, and impurities may be electrodeposited (incorporated) together on the copper layer 111. Therefore, the copper layer 111 is plated in a powder form, and thus, a depth of a valley is rapidly increased. Accordingly, the VMR of each of the first and second surfaces of the electrolytic copper foil 102 exceeds 12.5. In addition, when the concentration of the arsenic is high, in a process of forming the copper layer 111, on the basis of crystal faces, a (311) face, a (111) face, and a (100) face may be first grown, and the growth of a (220) face may be suppressed.

Therefore, in a crystal structure of the copper layer 111, in order for a (220) face TC [TC(220)] to be in a range of 0.49 to 1.28 and in order for the VMR of each of the first and second surfaces of the electrolytic copper foil 102 to be in a range of 0.8 to 12.5, the concentration of the arsenic in the electrolyte 11 is adjusted in a range of 5 mg/L to 45 mg/L.

The acetamide is a material added to the electrolyte 11 in order to control a size of copper plating particles in the electrolyte 11. When the size of the copper plating particles is too small, tensile strength of the electrolytic copper foil 102 is increased. On the contrary, when the size of the copper plating particles is too large, the tensile strength of the electrolytic copper foil 102 is decreased.

The concentration of the acetamide in the electrolyte 11 is controlled in a range of 5 mg/L to 25 mg/L. However, one embodiment of the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

When the concentration of the acetamide exceeds 25 mg/L, the copper plating particles are ultra-finely plated, and tensile strength of the electrolytic copper foil 102 after heat treatment exceeds 51 kgf/mm².

On the other hand, when the concentration of the acetamide is less than 5 mg/L, the copper plating particles are coarsely plated so that tensile strength of the electrolytic copper foil 102 after heat treatment is less than 25 kgf/mm². The PPG is a material added to the electrolyte in order to control a crystal structure of copper plating.

As the concentration of the PPG in the electrolyte is increased, the crystal structure of the electrolytic copper foil 102 becomes denser, and thus, the (220) face TC is increased, and as the concentration of the PPG in the electrolyte is decreased, the crystal structure of the electrolytic copper foil 102 becomes less dense, and thus, the (220) face TC is further decreased.

According to the present disclosure, the concentration of the PPG in the electrolyte is in a range of 5 mg/L to 20 mg/L.

When the concentration of the PPG in the electrolyte is less than 5 mg/L, the crystal structure of the electrolytic copper foil 102 is not sufficiently developed, and thus, the (220) face TC is less than 0.49. As described above, when the (220) face TC is less than 0.49, the crystal structure of the electrolytic copper foil 102 is not dense, and thus, there is a high risk that the electrolytic copper foil 102 is torn in a manufacturing process.

On the other hand, when the concentration of the PPG in the electrolyte exceeds 20 mg/L, the crystal structure of the electrolytic copper foil 102 is excessively dense, and thus, the (220) face TC exceeds 1.28. As described above, when the (220) face TC exceeds 1.28, elongation is decreased to be less than 3%. Therefore, the electrolytic copper foil 102 is easily torn in a manufacturing process. In addition, a sufficient adhesion force between the electrolytic copper foil 101 and an anode active material may not be secured due to the lack of an active area in which the anode active material may be in stable contact with the electrolytic copper foil 102.

In the forming of the copper layer 111, a deviation in flow rate at which the electrolyte 11 is supplied is maintained at 5% or less per unit minute. The deviation in flow rate at which the electrolyte 11 is supplied is for adjusting a width direction weight deviation of the electrolytic copper foil 102. The deviation in flow rate may be obtained as follows.

First, a flow rate at which the electrolyte 11 is supplied is measured for one minute at least twice. By using the measured flow rate values per minute, an average value of a flow rate per minute, a maximum value of the flow rate per minute, and a minimum value of the flow rate per minute are obtained. Then, a deviation in flow rate at which the electrolyte is supplied may be calculated according to Equation 4 below.

deviation in flow rate per unit minute of electrolyte (%)=[(maximum value of flow rate per minute−minimum value of flow rate per minute)/average value of flow rate per minute]×100  [Equation 4]

In order to make the width direction weight deviation of the electrolytic copper foil 102 less than or equal to 3%, the deviation in flow rate at which the electrolyte 11 is supplied is maintained at 5% or less per unit minute. When the deviation in flow rate at which the electrolyte 11 is supplied exceeds 5%, there occurs a deviation in flow rate, at which the electrolyte 11 is supplied, in a width direction of the electrolytic copper foil 102. Thus, there occurs a difference in efficiency when copper plating is performed in the width direction, and accordingly, a weight deviation of the electrolytic copper foil 102 exceeds 3%.

The copper layer 111 manufactured as above may be cleaned in a cleaning tank 20.

For example, an acid cleaning process for removing impurities on a surface of the copper layer 111, for example, resin components or natural oxides, and a water cleaning process for removing acidic solutions used for the acid cleaning may be sequentially performed. The cleaning process may be omitted.

According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the method further includes forming first and second protective layers 112 a and 112 b on the copper layer 111.

In the forming of the protective layer 112, the first and second protective layers 112 a and 112 b are formed on the copper layer 111 manufactured as above.

Referring to FIG. 8, the copper layer 111 may be immersed in an anticorrosive liquid 31 contained in an anticorrosive liquid tank 30 to form the first and second protective layers 112 a and 112 b on the copper layer 111.

The anticorrosive liquid 31 may include at least one selected from among chromium (Cr), a silane compound, and a nitrogen compound.

Specifically, the anticorrosive liquid 31 in which the copper layer 111 is immersed may include chromium (Cr), and chromium (Cr) may be present in an ionic state in the anticorrosive liquid 31.

The anticorrosive liquid 31 may include chromium at a concentration of 0.5 g/L to 1.5 g/L. In order to form the first and second protective layers 112 a and 112 b, a temperature of the anticorrosive liquid 31 may be maintained in a range of 20° C. to 40° C. The copper layer 111 may be immersed in the anticorrosive liquid 31 for about 1 to 30 seconds.

Specifically, the manufactured copper layer 111 is immersed in an anticorrosive liquid including chromium (Cr) at a concentration of 0.5 g/L to 1.5 g/L (for example, at room temperature for 2 to 20 seconds) and then dried, thereby forming the second and second protective layers 112 a and 112 b on the copper layer 111.

The anticorrosive liquid may further include at least one selected from a silane compound and a nitrogen compound. For example, the anticorrosive liquid may include chromium (Cr) at a concentration of 0.5 g/L to 1.5 g/L and a silane compound at a concentration of 0.5 g/L to 1.5 g/L.

The protective layer 112 is formed to manufacture the electrolytic copper foil 102.

Next, the electrolytic copper foil 102 is cleaned in a cleaning tank 40. Such a cleaning process may be omitted.

Next, after a drying process is performed, the electrolytic copper foil 102 is wound around a winder WR.

An anode active material may be applied on the electrolytic copper foil 102 manufactured as above according to the present disclosure, thereby manufacturing an electrode (that is, an anode) for a secondary battery of the present disclosure.

The anode active metal may be selected from the group consisting of carbon, a metal such as Si, Ge, Sn, Li, Zn, Mg, Cd, Ce, Ni, Fe, an alloy including the metal, an oxide of the metal, and a composite of the metal and carbon.

For example, after 1 to 3 parts by weight of styrene butadiene rubber (SBR) and 1 to 3 parts by weight of carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) are mixed into 100 parts by weight of carbon for an anode active material, distilled water is used as a solvent to prepare slurry. Subsequently, the slurry is applied to a thickness of 20 μm to 100 μm on the electrolytic copper foil 102 using a doctor blade and pressed at a temperature of 110° C. to 130° C. at a pressure of 0.5 ton/cm² to 1.5 ton/cm².

A lithium secondary battery may be manufactured using a conventional cathode, electrolyte, and separator together with the electrode (anode) for a secondary battery of the present disclosure manufactured through the above-described method.

Hereinafter, the present disclosure will be described in detail through Examples and Comparative Examples. However, the following Examples and Comparative Examples are provided to aid in the understanding of the present disclosure, but the scope of the present disclosure is not limited to the following Examples and Comparative Examples.

Examples 1 to 7 and Comparative Examples 1 to 7

By using a foil making machine including a cathode plate 13 and a rotating anode drum 12 disposed to be spaced apart from each other in an electrolyte 11, a copper layer 111 was manufactured by applying a current at an current density of 60 ASD to perform electroplating. The electrolyte 11 was a copper sulfate solution. In the electrolyte 11, a concentration of copper ions was 75 g/L, and a concentration of a sulfuric acid was 100 g/L. A temperature of the electrolyte was set to 55° C., and a current density was set to 60 ASD. During electroplating, a plating solution was circulated between a supply tank and a plating tank at a flow rate of 42 m³/hr using a circulation pump, and fine impurities in the plating solution were removed in a cartridge filter between the supply tank and the plating tank.

In addition, a concentration of arsenic (As), a concentration of acetamide, and a concentration of PPG included in the electrolyte 11, and a deviation in flow rate at which the electrolyte is supplied during plating are shown in Table 1 below.

The copper layer 111 was manufactured by applying a current at a current density of 50 ASD between the rotating anode drum 12 and the cathode plate 13. Next, the copper layer 111 was immersed in an anticorrosive liquid for about 2 seconds to perform chromate treatment on a surface of the copper layer 111 to form the first and second protective layers 112 a and 112 b, thereby manufacturing an electrolytic copper foil 102. As the anticorrosive liquid, an anticorrosive liquid including a chromic acid as a main component was used, and a concentration of the chromic acid was 1.0 g/L. The copper layer formed through the electroplating was immersed in the anticorrosive liquid and dried, thereby completing the electrolytic copper foil.

As a result, electrolytic copper foils of Examples 1 to 7 and Comparative Examples 1 to 7 were manufactured.

TABLE 1 Deviation As Acetamide PPG in flow rate (ppm) (ppm) (ppm) (%) Example 1 5 11 11 3.5 Example 2 45 11 11 3.5 Example 3 24 5 11 3.5 Example 4 24 25 11 3.5 Example 5 24 11 5 3.5 Example 6 24 11 20 3.5 Example 7 24 11 11 4.9 Comparative 4 11 11 3.5 Example 1 Comparative 46 11 11 3.5 Example 2 Comparative 24 4 11 3.5 Example 3 Comparative 24 26 11 3.5 Example 4 Comparative 24 11 4 3.5 Example 5 Comparative 24 11 26 3.5 Example 6 Comparative 24 11 11 5.3 Example 7 (i) VMR, (ii) tensile strength, (iii) a (220) face TC [TC(220)], (iv) a weight deviation (v), and surface roughness (Rz) of first and second surfaces were measured on the manufactured electrolytic copper foils of Examples 1 to 7 and Comparative Examples 1 to 7.

In addition, a secondary battery was manufactured using the copper foil, charging and discharging were performed on the secondary battery, and then, (vi) the secondary battery was disassembled to observe whether tears and wrinkles occurred in the electrolytic copper foil.

(i) Measurement of VMR

“Maximum valley depths of roughness profile (Rv)” and “surface roughnesses (Ra)” may be measured at three arbitrary points on a surface of the electrolytic copper foil [sampling length: 4 mm, stylus tip radius: 2 μm, stylus tip taper angle: 60°, and measuring force: 0.75 mN] according to JIS B 0601-2001 standards using a roughness tester manufactured by Mitutoyo company, average values thereof may be calculated, and then, VMR may be obtained from the calculated values of the “maximum valley depth of roughness profile (Rv)” and “surface roughness (Ra)” through a calculation according to Equation 2 below.

VMR=[maximum valley depth of roughness profile(Rv)]/[surface roughness (Ra)]  [Equation 2]

(ii) Measurement of Tensile Strength

Tensile strength is measured using a UTM, and in this case, after a sample is heat-treated at a temperature of 135° C. for 10 minutes, the tensile strength is measured. In this case, a width of the sample is 12.7 mm, a distance between grips is 50 mm, and a test speed is 50 mm/min.

(iii) Measurement of (220) Face TC [TC(220)]

An XRD method is performed in a diffraction angle (20) ranging from 30° to 90° [target: copper K alpha 1, 2θ interval: 0.01°, and 2θ scan speed: 3°/min] to obtain an XRD graph having peaks corresponding to n crystal faces (n=4) [for example, peaks corresponding to a (111) face, a (200) face, a (220) face, and a (311) face as shown in FIG. 4], and XRD diffraction intensity [I(hkl)] of each crystal face (hkl) is obtained from the graph. In addition, XRD diffraction intensities [I0(hkL)] of the n crystal faces of a standard copper powder regulated by joint committee on powder diffraction standards (JCPDS) are obtained. Subsequently, an arithmetic mean value of “I(hkl)/I0(hkl)” of then crystal faces is obtained, and then, I(220)/I0(220) of the (220) face is divided by the arithmetic mean value to calculate the (220) face TC [TC(220)]. That is, the (220) face TC [TC(220)] is calculated based on Equation 3 below.

$\begin{matrix} {{{TC}(220)} = \frac{\frac{I\left( {220} \right)}{I_{0}\left( {220} \right)}}{\frac{1}{n}{\sum\frac{I\left( {{hk}\; 1} \right)}{I_{0}\left( {{hk}\; 1} \right)}}}} & \left\lbrack {{Equation}\mspace{11mu} 3} \right\rbrack \end{matrix}$

(iv) Measurement of Width Direction Weight Deviation

Samples having a size of 5 cm×5 cm are taken from left, center, and right points positioned in a width direction of the electrolytic copper foil 102, and then, weight of each of the three samples is measured. Subsequently, an arithmetic mean and a standard deviation of the measured values are obtained, and a width direction weight deviation is calculated according to Equation 1 below.

width direction weight deviation (%)=(standard deviation of weight/arithmetic mean of weight)×100  [Equation 1]

(v) Surface Roughnesses of First and Second Surfaces (Rz1 and Rz2) and Difference (|Rz1−Rz2|) Therebetween

Surface roughness (Rz) of each of a first surface Si and a second surface S2 of the electrolytic copper foil 102 manufactured in Examples 1 to 7 and Comparative Examples 1 to 7 is measured according to JIS B 0601-2001 standards using an M300 roughness tester manufactured by Mahr Inc. A difference (|Rz1−Rz2|) between the surface roughnesses of the first surface Si and the second surface S2 of the electrolytic copper foil was calculated using the measurement results.

(vi) Observation of Occurrences of Wrinkles and Tears

1) Manufacturing of Anode

After 2 parts by weight of SBR and 2 parts by weight of CMC were mixed into 100 parts by weight of a commercially available silicon/carbon composite anode material for an anode active material, a slurry for an anode active material was prepared using distilled water as a solvent. The slurry was applied to a thickness of 40 μm on the electrolytic copper foils having a width of 10 cm of Examples 1 to 7 and Comparative Examples 1 to 7 using a doctor blade and dried at a temperature of 120° C., and a pressure of 1 ton/cm² was applied thereon, thereby manufacturing an anode for a secondary battery.

2) Preparation of Electrolyte

LiPF₆ as a solute was dissolved at a concentration of 1M in a non-aqueous organic solvent in which ethylene carbonate (EC) and ethyl methyl carbonate (EMC) are mixed in a ratio of 1:2, thereby preparing a basic electrolyte. A non-aqueous electrolyte was prepared by mixing 99.5% by weight of the basic electrolyte and 0.5% by weight of succinic anhydride.

3) Manufacturing of Cathode

Lithium manganese oxide (Li_(1.1)Mn_(1.85)Al_(0.05)O₄) and lithium manganese oxide (o-LiMnO₂) having an orthorhombic crystal structure were mixed in a ratio (weight ratio) of 90:10 to prepare a cathode active material. The cathode active material, carbon black, and poly(vinylidenefluoride) (PVDF) as a binder were mixed in a ratio (weight ratio) of 85:10:5 and mixed with NMP as an organic solvent to prepare slurry. The prepared slurry was applied on both surfaces of an Al foil having a thickness of 20 μm and dried to manufacture a cathode.

4) Manufacturing of Test Lithium Secondary Battery

In an aluminum can, a cathode and an anode were disposed to be insulated from the aluminum can, and a non-aqueous electrolyte and a separator were disposed therebetween, thereby manufacturing a lithium secondary battery in the form of a coin. The used separator was polypropylene (Celgard 2325 with a thickness of 25 μm, an average pore size of φ28 nm, and a porosity of 40%).

5) Charging/Discharging of Secondary Battery

The lithium secondary battery manufactured as above was driven with a charging voltage of 4.3 V and a discharging voltage of 3.4 V, and charging and discharging were performed 100 times at a high temperature of 50° C. at a current rate (C-rate) of 0.2C

6) Occurrence of Wrinkles or Tears

After the charging and discharging were performed 100 times, the secondary battery was disassembled to observe whether wrinkles or tears occurred in the copper foil. A case in which wrinkles or tears occurred was designated as “occurrence”, and a case in which wrinkles or tears did not occur was designated as “no.”

Test results are shown in Table 2.

TABLE 2 Tensile Weight |Rz1- strength deviation Rz1 Rz2 Rz2| Classification VMR (kgf/mm²) [TC(220)] (%) (μm) (μm) (μm) Tear Wrinkle Example 1 0.9 37.3 0.89 1.80 0.32 0.82 0.50 no no Example 2 12.4 37.3 0.88 1.82 1.45 0.81 0.64 no no Example 3 6.7 25.1 0.86 1.79 0.77 0.89 0.12 no no Example 4 6.7 51 0.87 1.83 0.65 0.95 0.30 no no Example 5 6.7 37.2 0.51 1.50 0.99 0.87 0.12 no no Example 6 6.7 37.1 1.26 1.52 0.98 0.93 0.05 no no Example 7 6.7 37.2 0.87 2.98 1.21 0.89 0.32 no no Comparative 0.7 37.2 0.86 1.79 0.32 0.97 0.65 occurrence no Example 1 Comparative 12.7 37.2 0.87 1.83 1.60 0.94 0.66 occurrence no Example 2 Comparative 12.2 24.8 0.86 1.50 0.99 0.87 0.12 occurrence no Example 3 Comparative 12.1 51.3 0.87 1.83 0.98 0.93 0.05 occurrence no Example 4 Comparative 12.1 37.3 0.47 1.50 0.88 0.89 0.01 occurrence no Example 5 Comparative 12.2 37.1 1.3 1.52 1.01 0.95 0.06 occurrence no Example 6 Comparative 12 37.2 0.87 3.20 1.07 0.88 0.19 no occurrence Example 7

The following results can be confirmed with reference to Tables 1 and 2.

The electrolytic copper foil of Comparative Example 1 manufactured using an electrolyte including arsenic in a small amount had a VMR of 0.7 which was smaller than a reference value, and tears occurred. The electrolytic copper foil of Comparative Example 2 manufactured using an electrolyte including arsenic in an excessive amount had a VMR of 12.7 which was greater than the reference value, a difference (|Rz1−Rz2|) between roughnesses of both surfaces was 0.66 which was greater than the reference value, and tears occurred.

The electrolytic copper foil of Comparative Example 3 manufactured using an electrolyte including acetamide in a small amount had a tensile strength of which a value was smaller than a reference value, and tears occurred. On the other hand, the electrolytic copper foil of Comparative Example 4 manufactured using an electrolyte including acetamide in an excessive amount had a tensile strength of which a value was greater than the reference value, and tears occurred.

The electrolytic copper foil of Comparative Example 5 manufactured using an electrolyte including PPG in a small amount had a (220) face TC [TC(220)] which was smaller than a reference value, and tears occurred. On the other hand, the electrolytic copper foil of Comparative Example 6 manufactured using an electrolyte including PPG in an excessive amount had a (220) face TC [TC(220)] which was greater than a reference value, and tears occurred.

The electrolytic copper foil of Comparative Example 7, which was manufactured by supplying the electrolyte 11 in a high deviation in flow rate which was 5.3% per unit minute, had a weight deviation which was higher than a reference value, and tears did not occur, but wrinkles occurred.

On the other hand, in the copper foils of Examples 1 to 7 according to the present disclosure, all values were within the reference value, and wrinkles and tears did not occur.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present disclosure described above is not limited by the above-described embodiments and the accompanying drawings and that various substitutions, modifications, and variations can be made in the present disclosure without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Consequently, the scope of the present disclosure is defined by the accompanying claims, and it is intended that all variations and modifications derived from the meaning, scope, and equivalent concept of the claims fall within the scope of the present disclosure.

Descriptions of Reference Numerals

-   -   101, 102: copper foil     -   112 a, 112 b: first and second protective layers     -   120 a, 120 b: first and second active material layers     -   103, 104: electrode for secondary battery     -   MS: matte surface     -   SS: shiny surface 

1. An electrolytic copper foil that has a valley mean roughness of 0.8 to 12.5, a (220) texture coefficient [TC(220)] of 0.49 to 1.28, a tensile strength of 25 kgf/mm² to 51 kgf/mm², and a width direction weight deviation of 3% or less, the electrolytic copper foil comprising a copper layer, wherein the width direction weight deviation is calculated according to Equation 1 below, and the valley mean roughness is calculated according to Equation 2 below: width direction weight deviation (%)=(standard deviation of weight/arithmetic mean of weight)×100, and  [Equation 1] valley mean roughness(VMR)=[maximum valley depth of roughness profile(Rv)]/[surface roughness(Ra)].  [Equation 2]
 2. The electrolytic copper foil of claim 1, wherein the electrolytic copper foil has a surface roughness of 2.5 μm or less.
 3. The electrolytic copper foil of claim 1, wherein a difference in surface roughness between both surfaces of the electrolytic copper foil is 0.65 μm or less.
 4. The electrolytic copper foil of claim 1, wherein the electrolytic copper foil has a thickness of 4 μm to 30 μm.
 5. The electrolytic copper foil of claim 1, further comprising a protective layer disposed on the copper layer.
 6. The electrolytic copper foil of claim 5, wherein the protective layer includes at least one selected from among chromium (Cr), a silane compound, and a nitrogen compound.
 7. An electrode for a secondary battery, comprising: an electrolytic copper foil; and an active material layer disposed on the electrolytic copper foil, wherein the electrolytic copper foil includes a copper layer and has a valley mean roughness of 0.8 to 12.5, a (220) texture coefficient [TC(220)] of 0.49 to 1.28, a tensile strength of 25 kgf/mm² to 51 kgf/mm², and a width direction weight deviation of 3% or less, and the width direction weight deviation is calculated according to Equation 1 below, and the valley mean roughness is calculated according to Equation 2 below: width direction weight deviation (%)=(standard deviation of weight/arithmetic mean of weight)×100, and  [Equation 1] valley mean roughness(VMR)=[maximum valley depth of roughness profile(Rv)]/[surface roughness(Ra)].  [Equation 2]
 8. The electrode of claim 7, wherein the electrolytic copper foil has a surface roughness of 2.5 μm or less.
 9. The electrode of claim 7, wherein a difference in surface roughness between both surfaces of the electrolytic copper foil is 0.65 μm or less.
 10. The electrode of claim 7, wherein the electrolytic copper foil has a thickness of 4 μm to 30 μm.
 11. The electrode of claim 7, wherein the electrolytic copper foil further includes a protective layer disposed on the copper layer.
 12. The electrode of claim 11, wherein the protective layer includes at least one selected from among chromium (Cr), a silane compound, and a nitrogen compound.
 13. The electrode of claim 7, wherein the active material layer includes at least one active material selected from the group consisting of carbon, a metal, an alloy including the metal, an oxide of the metal, and a composite of the metal and carbon, wherein the metal is selected from the group consisting of silicon (Si), germanium (Ge), tin (Sn), lithium (Li), zinc (Zn), magnesium (Mg), cadmium (Cd), cerium (Ce), nickel (Ni), and iron (Fe).
 14. A secondary battery comprising: a cathode; an anode formed as the electrode of claim 7; an electrolyte which provides an environment in which lithium ions are movable between the cathode and the anode; and a separator configured to electrically insulate the cathode and the anode.
 15. A method of manufacturing an electrolytic copper foil, the method comprising: preparing an electrolyte; and performing electroplating using the electrolyte to form a copper layer, wherein the electrolyte includes copper ions at a concentration of 70 g/L to 90 g/L, a sulfuric acid at a concentration of 50 g/L to 150 g/L, arsenic (As) at a concentration of 5 mg/L to 45 mg/L, acetamide at a concentration of 5 mg/L to 25 mg/L, and polypropylene glycol (PPG) at a concentration of 5 mg/L to 20 mg/L, and the formation of the copper layer includes applying a current at a current density of 40 A/dm² to 80 A/dm² between an electrode plate and a rotating drum disposed to be spaced apart from each other in the electrolyte.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein, in the formation of the copper layer, the electrolyte is supplied with a deviation in flow rate of 5% or less per unit minute, and the deviation in flow rate per unit minute is calculated according to Equation 4 below: deviation in flow rate per unit minute of electrolyte (%)=[(maximum value of flow rate per minute−minimum value of flow rate per minute)/average value of flow rate per minute]×100.  [Equation 4]
 17. The method of claim 15, further comprising forming a protective layer on the copper layer.
 18. The method of claim 17, wherein the forming of the protective layer includes performing anticorrosion treatment on a surface of the copper layer using at least one selected from among chromium (Cr), a silane compound, and a nitrogen compound.
 19. The method of claim 17, wherein the forming of the protective layer includes immersing the copper layer in an anticorrosive liquid including chromium (Cr) at a concentration of 0.5 g/L to 1.5 g/L. 